Florida Republicans see surge in voter registration

Republicans have closed the traditional voter registration gap with Democrats to an historically small margin in Florida, triggering a wave of Democratic apprehension in the nation’s biggest swing state.

Top Florida Democrats and longtime activists have increasingly groused in private that they feel pressure from Joe Biden’s campaign to refrain from door-to-door canvassing or holding voter registration drives due to the potential spread of the coronavirus and fears of muddying his messaging on the pandemic.

In August, Republicans added a party record of almost 58,000 new voters — a 91 percent increase compared to August 2016, the Florida election data show. The number of new Republicans added in August is 41 percent more than the number of new Democrats who registered. Democratic registration, meanwhile, was 6 percent lower than the total racked up in August 2016.

The Biden campaign denies it sent any directive concerning voter-registration drives. But at the same time, Biden has voiced support for the large racial-justice demonstrations that erupted around the country where thousands took to the streets — encouragement seemingly at odds with his campaign’s message to shelter in place and adopt other social distancing measures. The party and liberal groups did not try to register new voters at many of the events. LINK